Box or chest for tools or the like



Spt. 24, 1940. H. L. LEVENSTEN 2,215,881

yBOX OR CHEST FOR TOOLS OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 14, 1938 Patented Sept. 24, 1940 PATENT OFFICE I I B0X on CHEST Foa r.I ooLs 0R THE LIKE Harry L. Levensten, Chicago, Ill.

. v Application February 14, 1938,- Serial No. 190,405

` 2 claims. (c1. eis-77) `My invention relates to boxes, cabinets or chests provided with one or more sliding drawers, and more particularly to means for increasing the utility of the drawer construction. In its more particular aspects the invention relates to tool chests such as are used by carpenters, machinists, and the like.

It is an object of my invention to provide easily adjustably means that may permit any slidable drawer to be moved entirely out of the box or` may limit the sliding movement of the drawer to prevent separation of the drawer from the box. Other objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box with the top and front cover open to illustrate a preferred arrangement of drawers;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the drawer construction;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a detail perspective of one end of the channel member; and

Figure 7 is a detail perspective oi another embodiment of the channel structure.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 2 indicates a box provided with a top cover 3, a front panel d and a plurality of slidable drawers 5 and 5. The tcp cover preferably is hinged to the box and is held in closed position by a plurality of locks l. The front panel 4 is preferably removable but may be hinged to the front edge of the bottom of the box if desired. The front panel may be retained in closed position by any conventional means. It will be understood that the arrangement of the drawers may be designed to meet the needs of any user, but generally it is preferred to provide some drawers 5 of less width `than the box. partition 8 is. provided between adjacent drawers.

The outer walls Il of the box and the partitions 8 are preferably formed of plywood, and a pair of channel members Il) is secured to the walls or partitions of the box for each drawer. The channel members are secured to their respective walls by means of split rivets II which spread as they are driven into the walls. The rivets do not penetrate entirely through the walls and do not mar the appearance of the outside walls of the box.

In this case, a vertical dividing -Tliebox could be formed of vmetal and the channel members could be welded to the walls.

The side walls i2 ofV each drawer are grooved, as indicated at I3, to receive the channel members IIS. The drawers are slid on the channel mem- 6 bers lil by means of knobs or handles I4. Each channel member iii is provided with a downturned lip I5 at each end formed by bending the bottom wall of the channel III, as indicated in Figure 6 of the drawing. Only one lip I5 is re- 10 quired on each channel member, but I prefer to form a lip on each end to avoid the necessity of making rights and lefts. The groove I3 is, of course, made wide enough to allowthe drawer to slide over the channel member without catching 16 on the lip I5.

A screw I6 is threaded through a threaded metal insert I6 in the wall I2 of the drawer into the groove I3 and close enough to the channel member It to engage the lip I5 when the drawer 20 is slid outwardly. The engagement of the screw I6 with the lip I5 will prevent separation of the drawer from the box. If the user desiresto remove the drawer from the box it is necessary only to turn the screw enough to withdraw it from 25 the groove I3. It is not necessary to withdraw the screw from the wall I2 and it is therefore easy to turn it back into the path of travel of the lipI I5 if the user desires to limit the sliding movement of the drawer. Generally a single screw I6 30 is suiiicient for a drawer, but if the drawer is too wide, a screw may be used on each side.

In the modified embodiment illustrated in Fig-y ure 7 the channel members Il is wider than in the preferred form and is provided with a longi- `35 tudinally extending slot I3 having closed ends. In this form the screw i6 projects `through the slot III and engages the ends of the slot to limit the sliding movement of the drawer.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have 40 devised simple and efficient means for changing a drawer construction in which the drawer has limited sliding movement to one in which the drawer mayv be readily separated from its supporting structure, and vice versa. Boxes of this type are particularly suitable for use as tool kits, but are also capable of many other uses too obvious to enumerate.

Although I have described two embodiments of my invention in considerable detail, it will be understood that the description thereof is intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many details of the invention may be modied or changed without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to the exact structures disclosed, except as limited by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A portable tool chest comprising a box-like structure having a plurality of drawers horizontally slidable forward of the chest, supporting means for each drawer, each supporting means including a channel rail on which the drawer is slidable, substantially the entire depth of the channel extending into the wall of the drawer, the web of the channel having a longitudinal slot therein terminating short of the forward end of the web, and removable pin means projecting from the drawer into and. riding in the slot to limit the forward movement of the drawer,

u the channel being positioned with the web side thereof towards the drawer whereby the trough of the channel constitutes a free space for any excess pin length over that required to enter the slot, and a front panel movable into a position in front of all of the drawers to close the front of the chest.

2. A portable tool chest comprising-a box-like structure having a plurality of drawers horizontally slidablev forward of the chest, supporting means for each drawer, each supporting means including a channel rail on which the drawer is slidable, substantially the entire depth of the channel extending into the wall of the drawer,

removable pin means projecting from the drawer, 10

and means comprising a part of the channel and constituting a stop cooperating with the pin means to limit the forward movement of the drawer, the channel being positioned with the web side thereof towards the drawer whereby 15 

